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''I See a Dark Stranger'' (U.S. title: ''The Adventuress'') is a 1946 British
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
spy
comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by
Frank Launder Frank Launder (28 January 1906 – 23 February 1997) was a British writer, film director and producer, who made more than 40 films, many of them in collaboration with Sidney Gilliat. Early life and career He was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, ...
and Sidney Gilliat and starred Deborah Kerr and Trevor Howard.


Plot

Ireland, 1937. Young Bridie Quilty has grown up listening to her father's heroic tales of the Irish Revolution. As a result, she develops a hatred for everything and everyone British, especially "the wicked murdering blackguard"
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
. By 1944, Mr. Quilty has died. Bridie, who is now 21, sets out for
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
to carve a life of her own, hoping to join the IRA. On the train, she shares a compartment with J. Miller, a businessman returned from abroad. He is also a German agent who's entered Ireland unencumbered thanks to lax security. He shortly gets his assignment—to break a fellow spy out of prison. Miller recruits Bridie, who gets a job at a hotel and bar in Wynbridge Vale. Soon she becomes acquainted with a certain sergeant, who unwittingly provides her information about the prisoner's impending transfer to London. Meanwhile, Miller is disturbed by the arrival of Lieutenant David Baynes, a British naval officer on leave researching a thesis on Cromwell he suspects of being a counter-intelligence agent. To help enable Miller to free the spy he tells Bridie to distract Baynes on the day of the transfer. The implication is clear, she is to use her wiles. Baynes is happy to take her into the country on her half day but is curious by her blowing hot and cold with him. He has nothing to do with the prisoner transfer. The spy is freed anyway but is later shot in the getaway. Before dying, he tells Miller to recover a notebook on the
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
that holds important information. Miller is wounded too, but he escapes. When Bridie returns to her room, he is there, dying. He gives her the location of the notebook to pass up the spy chain. Keeping his head to the last, he tells her to dispose of his body when he is dead, which she does. When her German agent contact is picked up Bridie heads to Liverpool to get way to Ireland. She is followed by David and a mysterious stranger. However, travel to Ireland has been suspended so she sets out herself for the Isle of Man; with British military intelligence patching the clues together and only a step behind. Successfully locating the notebook at the Tynwald, she deciphers it, learning the location of the imminent D-Day landings. She decides to burn it. David later narrowly saves Bridie from being arrested as Miller's confederate, and after confessing his love for her, she tells him what she has done. Bridie tries to turn herself in, but the trailing German agents kidnap her. David tracks them and ends up abducted too. When she refuses to tell what she knows, the two are taken to Ireland on a fishing smack. The Nazis try to hide them amid a funeral procession, but the "mourners" are actually smugglers entering
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. Things go wrong at the border crossing, a melee erupts, and then Bridie and David escape in the confusion. Believing that they are still in neutral Ireland, where Bridie would be merely interned, David calls the police from a pub. When he discovers that they are actually in Northern Ireland, and that Bridie could be shot as a spy, he tries to persuade her to flee across the border. But she insists on facing the consequences. A BBC broadcast then announces D-Day has begun, rendering what she knows useless to the Germans. David helps her escape, then discovers the pack of spies in a room upstairs. A fight breaks out, the police arrive, and arrest all. After the war Bridie and David wed, their troubles seemingly all behind them, but staying at an inn called 'The Cromwell Arms' on their honeymoon is too much for her to stand.


Cast

* Deborah Kerr as Bridie Quilty * Trevor Howard as Lieutenant David Baynes * Raymond Huntley as J. Miller * Michael Howard as Hawkins * Norman Shelley as Man in Straw Hat * Brenda Bruce as Barmaid * Brefni O'Rorke as Michael O'Callaghan * James Harcourt as Grandfather * Liam Redmond as Uncle Timothy *W. O'Gorman as Danny Quilty * Garry Marsh as Captain Goodhusband * Tom Macaulay as Lieutenant Spanswick *Tony Quinn as Guide * Olga Lindo as Mrs. Edwards * John Salew as Man in the Bookshop *Harry Hutchinson as Chief Mourner/Smuggler *David Ward as Oscar Pryce * George Woodbridge as Walter * Everley Gregg as 1st Woman on Train *Kathleen Boutall as 2nd Woman on Train *Harry Webster as Uncle Joe *Kathleen Murphy as 1st Irish Woman *Josephine Fitzgerald as 2nd Irish Woman *Eddie Golden as Terence Delaney * Marie Ault as Mrs. O'Mara * Frank Atkinson as Soldier in Pub *Frank Ling as Reggie, Soldier in Pub * Peter Jones as Soldier in Pub *Lyn Evans as Soldier in Pub *Humphrey Heathcote as Sergeant Harris * Kenneth Buckley as R.T.O. * David Tomlinson as Intelligence Officer * Peter Cotes as Young Man (billed as Peter Coates) * Torin Thatcher as Policeman * Leslie Dwyer as Soldier in Cafe * Katie Johnson as Old Lady * Desmond Roberts as Naval Officer on Train * Hugh Dempster as Train Passenger *Pat Leonard as Receptionist * Gerald Case as Colonel Dennington * Dorothy Bramhall as A. T. S. Corporal * Cameron Hall as Usher in Tynwald Court * Joan Hickson as Hotel Manageress *Doreen Percheron as Receptionist * Norman Pierce as Dance M. C. * Eddie Byrne as Irish Sailor *Jim Winters as Irish Policeman *Austin Meldon as Customs Officer * Albert Sharpe as Irish Landlord *Bob Elson as Policeman


Production

Frank Launder Frank Launder (28 January 1906 – 23 February 1997) was a British writer, film director and producer, who made more than 40 films, many of them in collaboration with Sidney Gilliat. Early life and career He was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, ...
and Sidney Gilliat, writers who had worked on
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...
's 1938 spy film ''
The Lady Vanishes ''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British Mystery film, mystery Thriller (genre), thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel '' ...
'', formed Individual Pictures in 1945. ''I See a Dark Stranger'' was the first of ten films released by the company, with Launder kicking off an intended rotation between the pair as director. The picture was filmed at various locations, including
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
,
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...
and around
Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...
in Ireland, Dunster in England, and the
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
.Feaster, Felici
"I See a Dark Stranger" (TCM article)
/ref> During production, a rumour spread among crew members that a close relationship had developed between the "handsome, young" cinematographer Wilkie Cooper and Deborah Kerr. If it went beyond that, the affair was short-lived, as Kerr married
Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...
pilot Tony Bartley almost immediately after the film's completion. Charters and Caldicott, characters Launder and Gilliat first introduced in ''
The Lady Vanishes ''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British Mystery film, mystery Thriller (genre), thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel '' ...
'' (1938), were set to appear in the film but due to a disagreement with the actors
Basil Radford Arthur Basil RadfordAdam Greaves, "Radford, (Arthur) Basil (1897–1952)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, May 201available online Retrieved 3 August 2020. (25 June 189720 October 1952) was an English chara ...
and
Naunton Wayne Naunton Wayne (born Henry Wayne Davies, 22 June 1901 – 17 November 1970), was a Welsh character actor, born in Pontypridd, Glamorgan, Wales. He was educated at Clifton College. His name was changed by deed poll#Use for changing name, deed po ...
they were replaced by Captain Goodhusband and Lieutenant Spanswick.


Reception

The film was released in the United States under the title ''The Adventuress'', to good reviews but modest box office. Bosley Crowther, the critic for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' called the film "keenly sensitive and shrewd." In 1990 Sidney Gilliat quipped the film "must have broken even now."


Awards and honours

Deborah Kerr won a 1947 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress for her performances in '' Black Narcissus'' and ''I See a Dark Stranger''.Martin, Douglas
"Deborah Kerr, Actress Known for Genteel Grace and a Sexy Beach Kiss, Dies at 86"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' (19 October 2007)


References

;Notes ;Bibliography *Vermilye, Jerry. ''The Great British Films''. 1978, Citadel Press, pp 94–96


External links

* *
Film review
at ''Variety''
''I See a Dark Stranger''
at Screenonline {{Launder and Gilliat 1946 films British black-and-white films British spy thriller films 1940s spy thriller films Films directed by Frank Launder Films set in Liverpool Films set in Devon Films set in Ireland Films set on the Isle of Man Operation Overlord films World War II spy films Films set in 1944 Films scored by William Alwyn British World War II films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films English-language spy thriller films